Equity — across topics ranging from housing to safety to access to healthy food — was at the center of discussion for Wichita City Council candidates Tuesday night.
More than 200 attended a forum for District 1 candidates hosted by the Wichita Journalism Collaborative at Wichita State’s University’s Marcus Welcome Center. Attendees were able to submit questions for the candidates.
The five candidates vying to replace council member Brandon Johnson are Aujanae Bennett, Darryl Carrington, LaWanda DeShazer, Chris Pumpelly and Joseph Shepard.
District 1 is the only district that will have a primary on Aug. 5. The two candidates with the most votes will advance to the general election on Nov. 4.
District 1 generally stretches from Kellogg north to 37th Street between Hydraulic and Woodlawn.
Equity and inclusion
All five candidates said they oppose the City Council’s decision on Tuesday morning to suspend its Diversity, Inclusion and Civil Rights Advisory Board. The council said the decision was necessary to meet federal guidelines and keep the city’s federal funding.
“What came down from Washington was a — it wasn’t a new law. It was our president sitting at his desk. That is not a law. So we didn’t have to take a stance today,” DeShazer said. “We could have stood up and said, ‘No, not yet,’ and work internally to make sure things are better. So when I’m in that seat, with your help, I’m going to make sure we do the right thing anyway.”
Shepard said that if elected, he would support the creation of a new board to replace the suspended one.
“I’ll make sure that we are working with our legal team to abide with federal guidelines and regulations and create a new task force where we rename it to the community access and engagement (board),” he said.
Affordable housing
Candidates answered several questions about how they would increase access to affordable housing for their constituents.
Pumpelly said he wants Wichita to create a variety of affordable housing. He wants agreements with developers to be transparent.
“We’ve got to work with our developers, with our Realtors, with the investors, to say ‘Our intention is to build the best kind of real estate that we can that serves our people, and that means the lowest cost possible,’” he said.
Bennett said the city needs to take a closer look at deals with developers as well as do more to protect renters. “We need to look at what we are really doing when we give these incentives to these investors,” Bennett said.
“We need to work with local contractors, developers and Realtors to build these properties. They have more invested, they live here. And we need to create city ordinances that protect our tenants.”
Food access
Two of the candidates were asked how they would work to improve access to fresh food for people in District 1, an area with few grocery stores.
Carrington said grocery stores are important not only for access to food, but as community spaces.
“We do more than shop in grocery stores,” Carrington said. “That’s when we commune, that’s when we come together.”
Bennett said if elected to the City Council, she would work to bring grocery stores to District 1.
“District 1 is the only place I know that you have to drive two miles to get a fresh tomato,” Bennett said. “Now, I can get a weapon, but I can’t get a fresh tomato. Something’s wrong with that.”
Public safety
The candidates were asked several questions about safety in the community, including emergency response times, policing and the 29th and Grove contamination site.
DeShazer, who previously worked for the Sedgwick County Fire District, said the county and city need to prioritize following recommendations made after an apartment fire killed a Wichita woman in 2023.
“Things have not changed and so (when) it comes to leadership, if the people sitting in the seat aren’t getting the job done, it’s time to get some new blood in the seat,” DeShazer said.
Shepard said the city needs to prioritize interventions to prevent violence and avoid overpolicing.
“The needs of our generation today are different and so we have to send people into communities to get proximate who have been where they have been, who have seen what they have seen, to talk to them and embrace them and show them a different path,” he said.
You can watch the entire forum here:
Transportation Several candidates said Wichita transit can make improvements to better support the community, like having routes in the evening.
“The gap is the evening or nighttime schedules,” Carrington said. “If I work a second shift in this city, there’s no way I could get to work if I needed a bus. So that is crucial for a lot of people who work different shifts or maybe have more than one job.”
“I’ve got people in my immediate family — multiple people in my immediate family — who, not by choice, cannot drive. And if they can’t get somewhere, they’re out of luck,” Pumpelly said. “We have an implicit car ownership tax … we choose as a city not to invest in public transit as the economic driver that it is.”
Primary election coming up
Kitra Mwania, a therapist and District 1 resident who attended the forum, said she arrived not sure who she would vote for, and left still undecided.
“I just wanted to get a feel for the candidates, because I didn’t know much about them and to just really feel out their — I guess, sense of advocacy because that’s really all you can do as a city council member.” Mwania said. “I plan on watching everybody a little bit more closely, especially on socials and through the news, to kind of see if I can make a decision before the fifth because it’s gonna be here before we know it.”
You can register to vote, check if you’re registered and find your polling place or request a mail-in ballot at sedgwickcounty.org/elections.
This article was produced by The Wichita Eagle as part of the Wichita Journalism Collaborative. The WJC is an alliance of seven media organizations and three community groups, formed to support and enhance quality local journalism. KMUW is a founding partner of the WJC.
